It's been a top time for the National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) share price over the past four months or so. Back in early June, this ASX 200 bank share was trading at just over $25. But today, those same NAB shares are asking $29.12 each, albeit down 0.68% so far today.
That means the NAB share price has risen by an impressive 16% or so over just the past four months. This compares favourably against the broader S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO), which has lost around 1% of its value over that same period.
One of the catalysts for NAB shares' recent run appears to have been the quarterly update we saw in August. As we covered at the time, NAB reported a 5.8% increase in cash earnings to $1.9 billion for the three months ending 30 June 2023. That's in addition to a statutory net profit of $1.75 billion. This allowed the bank to initiate a $1.5 billion on-market share buyback program.
This large share buyback scheme has also probably helped NAB shares rise over the past few months as well.
But now that this ASX bank share has risen so enthusiastically over the past few months, many investors are probably wondering whether it is too late to buy NAB shares. So, let's discuss that proposition.
Is it too late to buy up NAB shares today?
Well, one ASX broker who is recommending the NAB share price right now is Goldman Sachs. As we covered last week, Goldman has given NAB a buy rating. That came with a 12-month share price target of $30.51.
Goldman points to NAB's commercial loan books, as well as its recent productivity gains (particularly measured against other ASX banks), as reasons for its bullish outlook.
If the broker's share price target is realised, this would see investors enjoy an upside of just over 4.6% over the coming 12 months. That's alongside any dividend returns, of course. Speaking of dividends, Goldman also expects NAB shares to pay out a fully-franked $1.66 in dividends per share over both the 2023 and 2024 financial years.
If Goldman is on the money there, it would give NAB shares a forward dividend yield of around 5.7% today.
But Goldman Sachs isn't the only one eyeing this ASX bank today.
Last month, we also covered how NAB's own director, Christine Fellowes, picked up almost $100,000 worth of NAB shares in early September. Fellowes reportedly paid an average of $29.04 per share for this investment.
So it seems that more than one expert investor is eyeing NAB shares at their current levels, despite the pleasing leap in the NAB share price that we've seen since early June.
